The Green Bay Packers signed Las Vegas Raiders running back Josh Jacobs and then released veteran Aaron Jones, surprising head coach Matt LaFleur.
As the Dallas Cowboys lose Tony Pollard and get worse at running back, the Green Bay Packers also took a loss at the position … and got better. The Packers made a high-profile move for Las Vegas Raiders running back Josh Jacobs in free agency as the franchise signed him to a four-year, $48 million contract.Now with Jacobs, Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon, the Packers had a very potent backfield … until they didn’t. The Packers would then release Jones, who had slowly been working his way back to form in the second half of the season. Dallas, meanwhile, was never in on Jacobs. Or Jones. Or even Dillon.
And a Dallas foe, the team that upset the Cowboys in the playoffs, has recently risen in the rankings.
Green Bay’s head coach, Matt LaFleur, has admitted that the front office’s decision to sign Jacobs and then remove Jones was unexpected.
“There were some other factors at play, obviously with Aaron Jones, and I wasn’t sure how everything was going to play out,” LaFleur told Jason Wilde of Madison.com. “It happened quickly on that Monday. I don’t know all of the facts because it happened so quickly. I’m not participating in those kinds of conversations. But we were quite happy to receive Jacobs.”
Head coaches are typically not privy to such chats, but in the case of Aaron Jones, who, when healthy, is a key component of LaFleur’s offence, a heads-up might have been necessary.
